Galesburg teachers prepare to address fidget spinner distractions

Monday

Aug 7, 2017 at 12:01 AMAug 7, 2017 at 9:49 AM

Matt Koester | The Register-Mail

GALESBURG — They became hugely popular across the country, leading to school-wide bans and arguments over whether they should be allowed in classrooms. The fidget spinner fad seems to be dying down, but with school starting back up Aug. 15, teachers and administrators in Galesburg District 205 are preparing to lay down the law.

Using a “fidget” toy, such as one of the popular spinners, purportedly helps students with attention deficit problems focus by keeping their hands busy, similar to how someone might click a ballpoint pen. Online product descriptions hail the spinners as an attention aid, and some educators have pointed to them as helpful for students with attention disorders.

However, scientific research has failed to back these claims, and many teachers have found the devices disruptive, especially when used without permission in the classroom. Since the explosion of spinners’ popularity, teachers in District 205 have dealt with thefts and disputes over ownership. They’ve also expressed anxiety over the spinners’ potential to injure students.

District 205 has no district-wide rules on fidget spinners, but most administrators and educators in the district would prefer the toys stay at home and out of the classroom.

“They didn’t become a problem in my room until the last two weeks of the year. Kids would steal them,” said Bailey Cavanah, who teaches second grade at Nielson Elementary School. “The first little boy who brought his to my classroom had his taken.”

Cavanah plans to be direct this year in keeping the spinners out of her classroom, except for on specific days when she plans to incorporate them into lessons.

Nick Sutton, principal at Lombard Middle School, has also had math teachers incorporate the spinners into lessons. He said the spinners are fine as long as they’re used at appropriate times, like at lunch. So far, he hasn’t had to deal with any thefts related to them.

For the most part, local administrators don’t think the spinners are a big deal. Like any fad, they will fade in time.

“The phenomenon is really no different than years ago when Pokemon cards were all the rage,” said Matt LeClere, principal of Nielson School.

Nielson has no specific rules regarding fidget spinners, but as far as LeClere is concerned, the process of dealing with them shouldn’t be any different: School administrators view them as toys, and students are expected to keep toys at home, where they won’t serve as a distraction.

Gale Elementary has gone so far as to ban the spinners outright, a decision Principal Jennifer Graves made after hearing about the spinners’ popularity and the lack of research backing them as an educational aide. Still, Graves said students with an IEP or 504 plan can still use a fidget if it’s part of their accommodations.

While fidgets may be helpful for some students, most agree that the fidget spinners are more disruptive than helpful, given the culture that has grown around them.

“Some people with attention deficit benefit from low-level stimulation, which can increase their ability to focus. Some kids can doodle in class to increase their retention of spoken lessons,” said Rebecca Mowers, a licensed clinical social worker and co-owner of Crossroads Counseling and Life Coaching in Galesburg. “However, what we are seeing is that the fidget spinners often require too much attention and are becoming more of a distraction to not only these students, but the class as a whole.”

Fidget toys may be useful, as some anecdotal evidence has said, but they’re hardly the only way to help students with attention problems, and District 205 teachers and administrators stress the district’s ability to accommodate students in less disruptive ways. If parents insist on having a fidget toy at school, they should communicate with their child’s classroom teacher first.

“If there’s some kind of fidget toy that needs to be used, it will be supplied for the student that needs it,” said Matt Lingafelter, principal of Steele Elementary School. “There’s no reason for it to be brought from home.”

Whether teachers will even have to worry about the toys is questionable, though. The fad, which exploded in town back in May, already has shown signs of dying down. At Calico Cat Gift Boutique on South Seminary Street, owner Lori Kohl said fidget spinner sales have slowed significantly.

While the store used to have to reorder the spinners weekly, it’s been weeks now since they’ve made an order. Sales nationwide have slacked since June. The spinners aren’t scarce anymore, and are now abundant at grocery stores, gas stations and at cut-rate prices online.

Calico Cat is going to keep carrying the toys, though, and Kohl hopes the coming school year might help sales.

“It’ll be interesting to see if it kicks back up,” she said. “Teachers might not be happy, but I’ll be happy.”

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